Hello faithful readers, all...both...of you. If you don't know, I'm a bit of a film nut (my name might give that away), and in my many years of watching movies, I've often encountered films which I feel get absolutely no respect, except from me. So, I've compiled a list of my top films which are hated by most of the viewing public, but hold a special place in my heart. Hopefully, I'll convince you to give some of these movies a spin. Hmmm, yes, and then I'll convince the tide to turn around, and ride a giant floating Twix Bar to the Cotton Candy Kingdom and give the Ice Cream God a high-five. Yeah, sounds about right. [/sarcasm off] But anyway, enjoy reading my goofy-ass list, leave a comment (or don't), and...do whatever, I guess.
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1. "Doomsday" (2008)- The 2000's never fail to disappoint me. For those who don't know, "Doomsday" is director Neil Marshall's (of "Dog Soldiers" and "The Descent" fame) tribute to post-apocalypse action thrillers from the 80's, specifically "Escape from New York" and "The Road Warrior". More importantly, it's also an affectionate callback to the hundreds of movies that ripped of these two films, such as Sergio Martino's "2019 - Dopo la Caduta di New York" (2019: After the Fall of New York) and Enzo G. Castellari's "1990: I Guerrieri del Bronx" (1990: The Bronx Warriors). I hold all these films close to my heart and consider them all classics of 80's action cinema. "Doomsday" plays as a near-perfect updating of these films. The plot is cheesy, the acting is silly, the costumes are ridiculous, and the action is both plentiful and extremely fun (also extremely bloody). If this film were made in the 80's, it would have been called "2037: The Doomsday Warriors", and would have played to packed theatres, probably on a double bill with "Steel Dawn" or "Raiders of Atlantis". But, like I said, the 2000's are such a disappointing era. When Doomsday was released 2 years ago, it was largely ignored and decried as a shameless rip-off of "Escape from New York" and "The Road Warrior". Apparently no one got the memo that this was intentional, and that this movie was never meant to be taken seriously. Well, I guess I can attribute most of these problems to the films atrocious marketing, which tried to sell it off as a serious action-sci-fi-thriller type film instead of the gloriously over-the-top self parody it was. Seriously, who at Lionsgate was in charge of this films marketing? I hope he got tazed in the balls after this came out, it's all he deserves.
2. "Gamer" (2009)- I often complain (to myself) that filmmakers nowadays lack enthusiasm. Back in the 70's, 80's and early 90's, filmmakers were much more exuberant and energetic with their films, and you could feel that energy leap off of the screen, transforming even the goofiest film into an entertaining jamboree. But today, filmmakers seem to just be going through the motions, filling the screen with 90 minutes worth of images before unceremoniously dumping you back into reality, like a really cheap hooker. They lack the energy and "oomph" of the films of yesteryear. However, this isn't true for all filmmakers. Adam Green and Eli Roth continue to stun me with their incredibly lively, anything-goes approach to cinema, even though the results vary greatly in quality. However, no other filmmakers can compare, in terms of sheer exuberance and manic energy, to Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, the directing pair responsible for "Gamer". Neveldine/Taylor exploded onto the scene with the 2005 Jason Statham-fest "Crank". It's a film I hold very dear to me, and not just because it has Jason Statham cursing like a drunk sailor with VD, chopping off a guys hand and making fun of him about it, and having steamy make-up sex with Amy Adams in full view of at least 100 Chinese people, but because it had that energy I made such a big deal of up there, and displayed it in full force. Every second of that film was like a pneumatic jolt to the head, crackling with intense action and general insanity. "Gamer", the duo's follow up flick, contains a least twice the explosive intensity and craziness of "Crank", and even tries it's hand at some gentle satire of the gaming community, but for some reason it was pushed aside when it went to theatres and has been treated like a red-headed step child ever since. While I can admit it is an extremely flawed film, with the social commentary coming off as rather hackneyed at certain points, and the insane camera movements that are a trademark of Neveldine/Taylor are so spastic and frenetic it obscures much of the films best action moments. But still, I love this film because of it's energy. It's a film were nothing is off limits; at one point, the characters engage in a song-and-dance routine while beating the shit out of each other. It's a film that throws in everything but the kitchen sink, and then decides two throw the kitchen sink in, too, just for laughs. It's wild, off-the-wall, and most of all, it has Gerard Butler kicking more ass than a professional ass kicker at an ass kicking contest where the top prize is a day in Megan Fox's vagina (don't think too much about that simile, I certainly didn't). Although it does have some serious problems, I really hope that future films learn from "Gamer's" example and try a little creativity, instead of going through the motions.
